A firefighter died on the night of Sunday July 2 to Monday July 3, 2023, in Saint-Denis (Seine-Saint-Denis), while he was responding to a vehicle fire. A riot-related incident? The investigation has only just begun.
The announcement was made by Gérald Darmanin in person. This Monday, July 3, 2023, the Minister of the Interior declared that a firefighter died in the exercise of these functions, this night, in Saint-Denis (Seine-Saint-Denis), while he was fighting against a vehicle fire in an underground car park. The tragedy occurred after the emergency services were called around 3 a.m., according to Le Parisien, to intervene on rue du Landy. While he had entered the basement of this building to try to conscribe the fire, the man fell into cardio-respiratory arrest. Despite the first aid provided by his colleagues and a transfer to the Clamart military hospital (Hauts-de-Seine), he did not survive. The victim was a 24-year-old young master corporal of the Paris Fire Brigade, Gérald Darmanin said in his message posted on Twitter.
While France has been facing riots in recent nights following the death of Nahel, 17, killed by a policeman, there is nothing at this stage to confirm or deny that the intervention of firefighters in Saint-Denis was linked to the voluntary triggering of a vehicle fire linked to these riots. The investigation should make it possible to clarify this point.
